Unexpected Love
by cokeman
Summary: Summary inside. It's a Natsu x Meredy fanfic. Just thought I would try it to see how it worked.
1. Chapter 1

Summery: After Ultear stabbed herself, she soon died of blood loss. Meredy, who was left all alone with no where to go, was generously taken in by Fairy Tail. So begins her new life. Will everyone in Fairy Tail be able to forget her dark past and accept her as one of their own? Will she get over Ultears death and get alone with Fairy Tail, or will she remain in darkness forever…?

_Why is she here? What was Master thinking, letting her in like that? She's dangerous._ Those words echoed through her head. They had every right to blame her. She attacked their guild after all. But even still, they only made things worse for her. Even though Makarov took her in, no one in Fairy Tail seemed to trust her at all. She didn't care though. She lost everything already. Ultear was the only one she could consider family and she was now dead.

"Don't worry. They will learn to accept you after a while." A soft voice came from behind her. She turned around to see Mirajane there, smiling. _'She's lying.'_ Meredy thought. _'How could they ever accept me? After all I did, they will never accept me.'_ She turned back around and tried to ignore her.

"Juvia agrees with Mira-san." Juvia said, walking up to the two. Meredy didn't dare turn around. She couldn't bear to face Juvia. Not now, nor ever. Juvia sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Juvia was once an outcast too." She said. "After Phantom dissolved, Juvia decided to come here." Meredy turned and looked at her, tears in her eyes. "Even though I was an enemy, they still accepted me. Even Gajeel was accepted, even after all the horrible things he did." She gave Meredy a reassuring smile. "So don't worry. They will learn to accept you too." She just looked at Juvia, tears rolling down her cheek. Juvia pulled the young mage into a loving embrace. _'This again…'_ Meredy remembered the first time she did this. _'It's so warm. What is this feeling…? I don't understand…'_ Meredy broke down crying in Juvia's arms.

Over across the room, Lisanna watched the two console Meredy. She smiled and looked back at Natsu and Gray arguing over something pointless again. She just continued smiling as she watched the two go at it. It didn't take long before the fight ended, courtesy of Erza. The beaten up Natsu sat across the table from her and rested his head on the table.

"Are you alright?" She asked the dragon slayer. He groaned, but she understood what it meant. After a while of just sitting there, he picked his head up and looked around.

"Where's Happy?" He asked, still looking around. He didn't realize Happy had left while he was fighting Gray.

"I think he left following Charle and Pantherlily." She said. He sighed. He should have figured as much. He stood up and walked over to the request board to see if there were any jobs that would be fun to do.

Meredy began to settle down and Juvia let go of her and looked at her. Her face was red and her eyes still had some tears. She sniffled every once and a while, but had calmed down none the less. She looked down at her knees, not knowing what to think, what to feel. Her mind was an utter blank. The petite pink haired girl just sat there in complete silence. Could she really consider Fairy Tail her new family? No! Ultear was her only family. Always has been and always will be. Even though it was Ultear that attacked her town, she still loved Meredy. She silently stood up and started walking off when someone crashed into her. She fell down and looked to see who it was.

"Sorry about that." A male voice spoke. She looked up and saw Natsu, extending his hand to help her. She stood up, ignoring it and started to walk away only to be stopped by Mirajane.

"Perfect timing, Natsu." She said to him. "Why don't you take her alone with you on that mission." She suggested, but he could tell she was commanding him to do it, not telling him to. Meredy just shook her head no and started walking off, only to be stopped by her again. "Don't be shy, just go with him." She said, smiling. She stood there in silence for a minute before reluctantly agreeing. The moment they walked out of the guild, Happy came flying towards them.

"Where are you going, Natsu?" The blue cat asked his companion.

"Going on a mission with… umm… what was your name again?" He looked over at her.

"Meredy…" She said quietly, but loud enough that they could hear her.

"You wouldn't leave without me, would you?" Happy questioned.

"Of course not." He said, smiling. "Let's go."

"Aye." Happy stated and the three walked off.

"So what's the job?" Happy asked.

"Finding some dangerous creature for some rich person." He said. "The reward is 1,000,000 bells so it must be really dangerous. I'm getting exited just thinking about it."

"It's worth that much." Lucy said, coming up from behind the two, not surprising them in the least.

"Yep. Wanna come along?" He asked, almost knowing that it was the only reason she approached them. She nodded and began walking with them.

"Who is she?" She asked, pointing at Meredy.

"That's… umm… Meredy, right?" He looked over at her, she just nodded slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Meredy." Lucy said in a kind, caring voice. Meredy just looked away slightly, somewhat annoying Lucy. Lucy was going to say something, but a strange feeling stopped her from doing it. It was like she was feeling what Meredy was. She could feel a lonely feeling coming from her, a feeling she knew well. She didn't want to make things worse for her, so she just ignored the gesture. The four seemed to be walking without any destination in mind. Natsu was leading them along a path that seemed to lead to nowhere. After a few hours of traveling down the road, the saw a mansion near the end of it. Natsu grinned and Lucy and Happy knew that meant this was their destination. They were relived to know he wasn't lost and leading them around to random places.

"Hello there." An old butler came and greeted them when they approached the mansion. "Are you here about the job?" He asked them.

"Yeah." Lucy said.

"Right this way." He said, leading them into the mansion. He led them into a large room that looked like a throne room. In the center on the room was a giant bed, with a man sitting on it. "Master." The man looked up at the butlers call. He signaled them to come over. "They are here for the job, sir." The old man told him. He nodded and stood up.

"Good." He said. "It is very simple, I need you to get my mothers run away pet back." He said, showing almost no emotion.

"You're offering that much money for a pet retrieval?" Lucy asked, stunned.

"Yes." He said. "You see, it is very strong and has a bad temper." He began to almost sound mad. "Oh, how rude of me, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Hikaru." The man said, smiling.

"So, just how strong is it?" Natsu asked egger to know the answer.

"Strong enough that you have permission to use lethal force." Hikaru said. "Is that a sufficient answer?" He questioned Natsu.

"Oh yeah." Natsu replied. He smiled, getting really exited about it. He just couldn't wait to see what it was. Just thinking about it got his blood pumping, making him more exited. Lucy looked at him, sighing. It most likely wasn't going to be easy, yet he was all fired up and ready to go. Just the opposite of her. She was nervous. If it was powerful enough that they were allowed to use lethal force, it must be pretty strong.

"It was last seen in the forest around back the mansion." Hikaru told them. "Be careful." He said. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy nodded while Meredy just stared at the ground. He led them out to the forest and watched them go in. "Good luck." He said when they were out of sight. He sighed and returned to the mansion to wait for them.

The group walked down a small path in the woods, looking for something.

"Shouldn't we be off the path, looking for it?" Lucy asked, even though she really didn't want to be looking for it.

"Yeah… But what are we looking for again?" Natsu asked, looking at Lucy. She just stared at him, realizing they didn't have a clue what to look for. They were on a wild goose chase. They didn't know what it was, what it looked like, or anything about it except that it is strong and dangerous.

"I-I don't know…" She replied. She gulped, scared. It could be watching them, waiting for them and they don't know it. They wouldn't know it.

Meredy looked at them, talking and worrying. She had no clue what was going on. She didn't pay attention to anything that happened around her. Not that it mattered to her. She was only going because Mirajane and Juvia insisted she did. She had no real interest in it what so ever.

"Hey, do you know what we're looking for?" Natsu asked. She just stared at him blankly, not saying a word. "Do you?" He continued looking at her, not accepting silence as an answer.

"No." She said coldly.

"Then let's split up." Happy suggested, flying between Natsu and Meredy. "If the four of us search, we'll definitely find it." He said.

"No way!" Lucy argued.

"Why not?" Happy questioned her.

"If it's really strong, then we might not be able to take it on alone." She said.

"Then call someone for help if you find it." He said.

"Call them how?" She said, getting tired of the argument. "Even if I do call someone, they might not make it on time."

"Then let's split into teams." He gave another suggestion. She nodded in agreement. "Me and Natsu will search over that way and you and her search over there." He told them, pointing where each team was going. Lucy and Meredy walked where Happy said to and Happy and Natsu walked the other way.

Lucy looked over at Meredy. She felt an uneasy atmosphere around them. She didn't know if it was Meredy or something else. Meredy looked up at her, then back at the ground. They heard a roar in the direction Natsu and Happy went, followed by fire flaring up in the sky. The two stopped and Lucy wondered if they should go help him. After a few minutes, something came running at them. Once it was in view, they could tell it was angry. The raptor looking thing came running at them and rammed into them, knocking them away. It stopped and looked at the two. It immediately charged at Lucy, running much faster than before. It rammed her into a tree, knocking the wind out of her. It then used its head to smack her away from it before turning around, looking at Meredy. She couldn't do anything. She just stared into its eyes, those eyes of a monster out for blood. She tried to gather her thoughts and focus but it began to charge her before she got the chance. It rammed into her, but she managed to get away before it smashed her into something. It looked at her again, lowered its head and prepared to charge again. She got up, but found her legs wobbly, making it hard to stand. When she looked at it, it began to charge again. She couldn't do anything but stand there. She just watched as the blood thirsty beast charged toward her. Only a few meters before it got to her, something landed on it. It took her a second to see it was Natsu. He had used Happy to chase it all the way here.

"Hey, where's Lucy?" He asked, walking up to her. Meredy pointed where Lucy was.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" Happy asked, hovering above her.

"Somehow." She panted heavily. Meredy felt her legs give away and fell down on her knees.

"Are you alright." He asked, offering her a hand. She nodded and tried to stand up on her own, but was too weak to do so. Looking at his out stretched hand; she accepted it and he pulled her to her feet, only for her to fall back down. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked her, a little worried. She nodded and extended her hand, requesting help. He grabbed it and pulled her up again, letting her use him arm to keep herself up. They heard a weird hissing like noise and saw the raptor thing standing up looking at them. Meredy noticed its eyes changed from blood lust to fear. Natsu walked over to it, Meredy still on his arm and looked at it. It lowered its head and crouched down.

"What is that thing?" Lucy asked.

"What we were looking for." Natsu said confidently.

"How can you tell?" She asked him, doubting him seriously.

"Just look around its neck." He said. She walked toward it and looked to see what he meant. There was a collar around its neck. "What the…" She said when she read it. "Why is it named Fluffy?" She asked, shocked. Natsu chuckled at the name. Natsu used fear to get it to return with them to the mansion. When they returned, a large, old lady came running up and threw her arms around the reptile.

"Oh, where have you been, Fluffy." She exclaimed. It nuzzled against her, making her smile.

"Thank you all." Hikaru said, walking up to them.

"I thought you said that it was strong." Natsu said, disappointed.

"No, you just must have been too strong for it." He said, smiling. "Besides, I said that because I didn't know how strong you were. All I knew is everyone before gave up because they were terrified of it." He just kept smiling. "So here's your payment. Thanks for all your help." He handed them their payment and walked back into the house.

"Man that was really disappointing." Natsu grumbled. "I was hoping for something really big and strong that would give me a challenge." He just grumbled, upset that it was so easy.

"What's so bad about an easy job?" Lucy asked. "Especially when it pays this much." She added happy that she was going to be able to pay the months rent.

Meredy just watched them chat away cheerfully. She was on the other hand embarrassed. She was so weak that she had to use Natsu for support. She didn't even know why he was supporting her. Was it kindness? Or was it out of pity? _'It must be pity.'_ She thought to herself. _'There's no way he is just being kind to me.'_ She began to resent him for pitying her.

"Are you alright there?" Natsu asked her. She just stared at him angrily. She let go of him and let herself fall to the ground. "Oh, sorry." He said, holding his hand out for her.

"I don't need your stupid pity!" She yelled slapping his hand away.

"Pity?" Natsu looked at her, confused.

"Don't play dumb!" She yelled. "I'm not weak! I can get back on my own!" She just glared at him.

"What?" He looked at the angry young mage. "I wasn't pitying you. I was just helping out a comrade." He told her.

"Oh really?" She said doubtfully.

"Yep." He smiled. She used her sensory link magic on him. She was surprised to find he was telling the truth. He was doing this out of kindness, not pity like she thought. He extended a hand once more, this time she took it, using it for support again.

"Thanks…" She mumbled. He just smiled and they continued their journey back to the guild. The whole way back, Meredy held on to the dragon slayers arm, not wanting to let go again.

"So, uh, Meredy." Lucy looked at her. "If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at my place until you find one yourself, ok." She smiled. Meredy just nodded slightly. After they got back to the guild, everything went like it always does. Natsu talking about his job and then somehow getting into a fight with Gray. Meredy sat back down where she was before, Lucy joining her. Lucy began talking to her about the guild. Everything she has seen, done, all the jobs she has taken. Meredy just listened to her. She wasn't really interested, but found some of the things Lucy said humorous. At the days end, she found herself staying at Lucy's place. She looked around the apartment, surprised at how big it was.

"Here." Lucy handed her some pajamas. "They might be a bit big though." Meredy got changed quickly. The shirt went all the way down to her shins, almost making the pants unnecessary. Lucy led her to her bed. "We can just share my bed, ok." She smiled at her. Suddenly, an image of Natsu smiling popped into Meredy's head. She could feel her face heat up and her heart began to race. She couldn't understand why. She has never felt this way before. She laid down in Lucy's bed with her and before long, fell asleep.

Meredy woke up, yawning. She noticed Lucy wasn't there anymore. She walked out and saw Lucy in a chair, yelling at Natsu for breaking in again.

"Oh, good morning." Lucy said when she noticed Meredy.

"Good morning." Natsu said, smiling as usual. She blushed and turned away, not knowing what to say or do. She looked at him, noticing the only seat was next to him. She slowly walked over and sat next to him. She noticed that he and Lucy were already talking about something she didn't know about. She gave a small, shy smile. Both Lucy and Natsu noticed and realized it was the first time they ever saw her smile. The first time they ever saw her look happy. They both hoped to see her smile more often. She saw them both staring at her and her face turned red in embarrassment. She noticed it herself as well though. For the first time in a while, she felt a little happy. She wasn't really happy, but this little feeling was enough for her at the moment.

TO BE CONTINUED…

There we go, Chapter 1. Hope you liked it. I wanted to try a pairing that no one has yet to see, so I hoped it turned out good. I will post the next chapter as soon as I finish writing it.

So please review and tell me how I did.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I glad to see people like my story so far. I wasn't so sure at first because I've never seen this pair and I didn't know if anyone would be interested. So it's good to know it is working so far.

Alright, time for Chapter 2

Natsu looked outside again to see it was still raining. It had been raining all day. He looked back down before quickly looking back out to see it raining. Lucy just sighed. He had been doing that for the past day. No one has been able to leave the guild because of flooding. It just kept pouring, refusing to stop. Natsu was getting impatient, wanting to go out and do something. He was getting jump from just sitting there doing nothing. Gray, who was sitting next to him, was feeling the same way. He didn't want to be sitting there doing nothing. The whole guild was silent, only sound was raindrops hitting the roof. It was impossible to see very far past the guild it was raining so hard. The doors flew open and Juvia walked in.

"You were right. It is someone who is causing this rain." Juvia said.

"Do you know who it is or where they are?" Makarov asked.

"No." She said, shaking her head. "They ran away before Juvia could do anything. Juvia hasn't seen him since he ran away." Makarov looked down and began to think. He knew if this kept going on, there would be serous trouble. After a few minutes he sighed, not able to think of anything. "Should Juvia to go look for him?" She asked. The guild master just shook his head.

Meredy just watched them from across the room. She still feels a little out of place and lonely, but thanks to Lucy, Mirajane, Juvia, and Natsu, those feelings have slowly gone away. Gray and Erza have started talking to her as well. For the first time, she feels like she might have a home here after all.

"How are you feeling?" Juvia asked. Meredy looked over at Juvia and smiled slightly. Juvia smiled as well, happy things were going well.

"Hey, the rain is stopping! Alright!" Natsu yelled. Surprised, everyone looked outside to see that it was true. The clouds disappeared in a matter of seconds, leaving a beautiful, blue sky in their place.

"Alright." Makarov said, standing up. "We need to make sure there is no damage and repair it if there is any." Happy to have something to do, everyone in Fairy Tail went out side and did what Makarov instructed. After about an hour, they were disappointed, but at the same time relieved that there was no damage done.

"Do you have any idea who that was, Master?" Mirajane asked Makarov after they all finished. He just shook his head. It didn't take long for things to go back to normal. Meredy just went and sat down where she usually sits.

"Hey!" Natsu called over to her. She looked over at him and he signaled her to come over there.

"Why are you always sitting over there by yourself?" Lucy asked her when she got there. She just shrugged.

"We were about to go look for whoever did this. Wanna come?" Natsu asked. Meredy shyly nodded her head. "Then let's go." Natsu said eagerly. Lucy, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, and Wendy all nodded. The seven of them headed out the city and in search of who ever it was. They decided to split up, Lucy and Wendy, Gray and Gajeel, and Natsu and Meredy. Erza insisted she go alone and no one argued with her.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Gajeel asked Gray.

"How would I know?" Gray responded.

"So we're looking for something that we don't even know what it is?" He smiled. "That makes this more interesting." Gajeel could feel his blood pumping, ready for action. After doing nothing all day, he was exited and ready for anything. Gray looked at him and smiled, for he felt the same way.

Meredy watched Natsu look around excitedly. He looked like a hyper puppy who only wanted to play. She could feel her face turning red. She didn't know what she was feeling or why she was feeling it. Just she always felt this way when she was with Natsu. It was like she was nervous and excited at the same time. She just continued watching him, trying to understand the feelings she was experiencing.

"Hey. Come on, help me search." He called to her. She nodded and ran after him.

Wendy and Lucy weren't having any luck like everyone else so far. They haven't even found any animals yet alone a person. The more they searched and found nothing, the more they got discouraged. It didn't take long before the two got tired.

After a few hours of searching, they all just gave up. They met back up where they had split up and headed back to the guild. Meredy was surprised how fast that day went by. It felt like the day just started a few minutes ago.

"Where did you all go?" Juvia asked as they approached the guild.

"We went looking for the person you saw." Natsu said.

"Did you find him?" She asked. They all shook their heads. They went back into the guild and told Makarov everything.

"I figured as much." He said after they finished telling him what happened. "Why don't we wait till he strikes again? If he's after something here, he most likely won't give up so easily." They all nodded in agreement before leaving. Lucy and Meredy went back to her apartment and got ready for bed.

"I'll be there in a second." Lucy told Meredy. She nodded and climbed into the bed. She scooted toward the center and bumped into something. She turned around to see Natsu sleeping right there. The moment she saw him, she jumped out of bed and backed up against the wall. "What's wrong…?" She said before noticing Natsu's presence. "What do you think you're doing?" She yelled.

"Morning already?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" She yelled again. Meredy just watched as Lucy scolded Natsu. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest it was beating so fast. Her face was completely red and she was breathing uncontrollably. She could feel her whole body trembling as she just sat there.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked. Meredy looked up and saw Natsu and Lucy staring at her, worried. She took a few deep breaths and regained her composure.

"I-I'm fine." She said, still breathing heavily. The two stared at her for a few more seconds before Lucy began scolding him again. Meredy just continued to watch them, her heart still beating really fast. She felt really weird, a feeling she never had before. Yeah, Natsu scared the crap out of her, but that wasn't the reason her heart was beating so fast. It was because of the feeling she was having. All she could do is sit there. Her legs felt weak and she couldn't move. She was tired and soon found herself drifting to sleep. She tried to resist it, but it didn't take long for sleep to over take her.

Meredy woke up and stretched. She noticed she was on the bed again. She looked over and saw Lucy next to her. She looked around and figured Natsu left. She walked out into the living room and saw Natsu sleeping on the couch with Happy. She took a small step back, her cheeks burning red. She took a deep breath and sat on the chair next to where he was sleeping. She looked at his sleeping face. He was lying on his back; one arm flopped off the couch, the other one over his head on the arm of the couch. There was a little bit of drool on his cheek, going up and down as he breathed in and out. To her, he looked really peaceful and cute. She blushed a little at the thought. She noticed Happy on top of him. The blue Exceed was on his back, his arms and legs spread out. He looked so comfortable sleeping on his partner like that, so carefree and lazy. She smiled slightly.

"You're awake early." Lucy said, entering the room. Meredy looked over at her and nodded before looking back at Natsu, who had his eyes opened, looking back at her. She jumped, slightly scared. She didn't expect him to be awake. Lucy just looked at him, annoyed. Natsu sat up, resulting in Happy falling on the floor, waking him up as well. The two yawned in unison.

"Oh, good morning." Natsu said when he noticed Meredy looking at him. Even though he looked directly at her when he first woke up, he wasn't awake enough to process who he was looking at or what they were doing.

"G-Good morning." She replied. It was that feeling again, the one from last night. It wasn't as strong as last night, but it was the same feeling none the less. The feeling she couldn't identify. She hadn't given it too much thought since she fell asleep. She has been having strange feelings ever since she went on that mission. It wasn't that she hated the feelings, but the fact she couldn't understand them just frustrated her. Natsu and Happy looked at her. She looked lost in thought. Her eyes blank, staring off into space. She looked as though in a trance. Natsu walked in front of her and waved his hand in front of her face. When he got no response, he put his face close to hers and examined her face closely. Only moments later, she snapped back to reality, and screamed when she saw how close their faces were.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, running over to her. She looked at Natsu, on the floor in front of her chair. The moment she had screamed, he jumped back, startled a little. "What did you do?" She scowled at him.

"I don't know?" He said. "She looked lost in thought so I was examining her closely when she screamed.

"Are you alright?" She looked back at Meredy.

"Y-Yeah. He just scared me." She said. _'What is this feeling? What could it be?'_ She thought to herself. _It can't be love, can it? No, that's impossible._ She shook the thoughts out of her head, deciding not to think about it. She could think about it some other time. She went into the bathroom and changed into her clothes. She came out and sat back on the couch. Lucy looked at her and shook her head.

"Don't you have any other clothes?" She asked, to which Meredy shook her head. "Then let's go!" Lucy said, pumped up.

"Where?" She asked.

"We're going to shop for clothes." Lucy said. She took Meredy back to the guild and got Mirajane and Erza to help her get some more clothes for Meredy. Natsu watched the three drag Meredy to the city. He had a feeling that it was going to be a boring day.

"Where should we start?" Lucy wondered. She looked at all the shops but couldn't decide where to start. It didn't take long for Erza and Mirajane to pick a shop for them. Lucy agreed and the four went in to get Meredy some better clothes. Lucy, Mirajane, and Erza each picked out at least ten outfits each, and decided on two from each person's selection. After they finished choosing, Lucy and Mirajane took Meredy back to Lucy's apartment and Erza went back to the guild and dragged Natsu and Juvia back to the apartment to judge which outfits work best.

"Why do I have to come?" Natsu whined.

"Because I said so." Erza said bluntly.

"But…" Natsu stopped upon seeing Erza's glare. He gulped and stopped talking. Natsu and Juvia just waited on the couch. Meredy came out wearing a light blue one piece skirt that went down to the tip of her knees. It was short sleeved but the sleeves were cut at the top, revealing her shoulders. Meredy looked at them, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Juvia thinks you look great." She said. Natsu just nodded in agreement. He didn't really know what to say, so he just agreed so he didn't hurt her feelings and get pummeled by Erza. Mirajane pushed Meredy back into the room to change her into the next pair of clothes. Meredy came back out, her face completely red. She was wearing a pair of short jeans, really short jeans. They were only inches below her hips and revealed almost all of her legs. The shirt she was wearing was small as well. It was a cute, pink tank top that stopped a few inches past her underdeveloped breasts. Natsu noted it looked a lot like Mirajane's old outfit, just a different color scheme.

"It looks… different." Juvia said. Natsu just nodded wordlessly again, only to have Erza glare at him.

"Yeah… different." He said. Again, Mirajane pushed the pink haired mage back into the room to change. This time she came out with some casual clothes on. She wore a pair of jean shorts that went down just a few inches above her knees and a sky blue tank top with a matching vest. After Natsu and Juvia gave their input, Mirajane dragged her back in to change again. She came back out with another one piece dress, but different colors and it had a few decorations. The last two outfits were just jeans and t-shirts, both similar but different in color. After they finished, Meredy went back in the room and choose an outfit to wear for the day. She chose the first outfit. Mirajane, Erza, Lucy, and Juvia all talked about how they thought she looked in each set of clothes while Natsu just sat there quietly. Meredy just watched the girls talk, occasionally looking over at Natsu. She smiled a bit to herself. As each day went by, she found herself fitting in more and more with everyone, and becoming even happier as well. Happy that she might have found a new, great place she can call home. And great people who she can consider family.

TO BE CONTINUED…

And there's chapter 2. It's not as long, or good as chapter 1, but the chapters will get better.

So please tell me how I did by reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

Here you go. I need some feedback to know how I'm doing. If I don't get feedback, I won't get any better.

Chapter 3.

It has been two and a half weeks now since the former dark mage entered Fairy Tail. Everyday she has seen them as family. All she wanted was for these times to never end. She loved everyone in the guild. They were all so nice to her and she appreciated it. Though, one person in particular has captured her heart. She wasn't so sure about it at first, but with Mirajane's help, she was able to realize her feelings for him. Thanks to his kindness, she had fallen in love with him. She knew without a doubt that she was in love with Natsu Dragneel. The fire mages kindness towards his friends and his love for this guild helped her fit in and gave her a new family.

"Go on now." Mirajane said. Meredy just stood still, too nervous to move. "Go on, ask him." She urged her.

"I-I can't…" Meredy said. Ever since she realized her feelings for Natsu, Mirajane has been pushing her to ask him out. The young mage has tried many times, but has been too shy to act upon her feelings. She has never fallen in love before and was nervous. She was also scared of getting rejected for some reason.

"You can, now go on." She said, pushing Meredy into Natsu.

"Yo, what's up?" He turned around and met her eyes. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry." She said and turned around and started walking away. Mirajane stopped her and urged her to ask him out.

"Natsu-san, Meredy here has something she wants to ask you." Mirajane said, pushing her towards him again.

"Hmm? What is it?" He asked. Meredy's heart stopped. She wasn't ready, but she couldn't just tell him nothing. At the same time, Mirajane wouldn't let her avoid the question with another question.

"Umm… w-would y-y-you g-g-g-g…" She just stammered, not knowing how to say it.

"Meredy was wondering if you would go to dinner with her tonight." Mirajane said, turning Meredy's face bright red. Natsu stared at them for a moment. He didn't know why, but being around Meredy made him feel really good. Like when she was happy, it was contagious and spread to him. Just being around her made him feel more at ease.

"Sure." He said. Meredy just stared at him. It looked like he just accepted her offer without giving it a single thought. The moment she realized what he did, she fainted, only to be caught by Natsu. He picked her up and set her down on one of the benches and sat next to her. Mirajane looked at her and smiled before walking away. _'The rest is up to you, Meredy.'_ She thought as she walked away. Meredy woke up and saw Natsu next to her, talking to Lucy.

"Oh, finally awake." He said when she sat upright. Her heart fluttered. She was going on a date with Natsu. She got up and left. She went back to Lucy's and her place and tried to choose what to wear. Since she was having trouble finding a place, she decided to stay with Lucy, helping her pay each months rent. Lucy didn't mind, in fact, she seemed to like it a lot. Not only was there another girl there for her to talk to, the rent was easier to pay with two people paying it. Meredy decided to go with the one piece dress. She went in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her appearance had changed a lot since she entered Fairy Tail. Her hair was slightly longer, going a little past her shoulder blades. The gold, wing like headgear she used to wear was gone. She had grown a few centimeters taller, but her breasts were still the same size. She looked at the dress she was wearing. After a few seconds, she left the bathroom and went out into the living room. She saw Lucy sitting on the couch.

"So, why did you leave in such a rush?" She asked. "Is something troubling you?"

"I'm fine." Meredy replied. Lucy nodded. Meredy sat down next to Lucy. She told Lucy that she was in love with Natsu and that they had a date that night. After Meredy finished, Lucy nodded.

"If that's the case, then that plane outfit won't work." She dragged Meredy back into her room and got her dressed into something nicer. Meredy looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a cute blouse and a black dress that went to the middle of her shins. "I don't use that skirt so you can keep it, but we will have to get you your own blouse though." Lucy said. Meredy looked at the blouse. It was too big for her and covered her already small breasts. Lucy stepped back and admired her work. The two girls then began to talk as they waited for night.

"Natsu." Mirajane walked up to the fire mage and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, tired. "You better change into something nice for tonight.

"What I'm wearing is fine." He said.

"You better change into something nice for tonight." She repeated, grasping his shoulder tightly. "If not then…" She trailed off as she held tighter on to his shoulder.

"O-ok." He said. He had a nice pair of clothes somewhere, so he went back to his house to find it. He searched his house till he found it. It was just an ordinary tuxedo, but it was all he had. He tried it on to see if it still fits him. He was able to put it on no problem and everything fit perfectly. Pleased with himself, he went to find something to do till night.

"Natsu." Happy called. Natsu saw his partner flying towards him. Happy stopped right in front of him in shock. "What's with the suit?" He asked.

"Nothing." Natsu replied. Happy looked at him quizzically. After a few seconds, he shrugged it of and went out with Natsu.

Night time seemed to take forever to come, especially for Meredy. The young mage was exited about her date and was impatient, wanting night to come sooner. When night time finally did come, she waited outside the apartment for him. She didn't wait long, for he came walking up a few minutes after she got outside. The two went to a nice restaurant. Not a fancy one, but not a crappy, low quality one either. The two sat across from each other, neither had said a word since the date began. Meredy was too nervous to say anything and Natsu didn't really know what to say.

"So, what did you do while you waited?" She asked after they ordered.

"I went back to the guild and slept." He answered. She just stared at him blankly. Of course he wasn't nervous because he didn't really see this as a date. But, still, she needed to find something to talk about so things didn't get awkward. She continued to stare at him, trying to think of something to talk about. "You alright?" He asked, snapping her out of her trance.

"Yeah." She said. "So, why did you agree to come with me to dinner?" She asked.

"Why not?" He answered. "We're friends right? Is it weird to spend time with friends?" She looked at him, a little disappointed by his answer. She thought of him as more than a friend and yet he could only see her as a friend, but she was glad he was willing to spend time with her.

"No. I was just curious, that's all." She said. _'Yeah… Just curious…'_ She thought. Sighing, she waited for their food to come. The food came and Natsu began helping himself. It didn't take him long before he was finished and ordering something else. When they got him the next thing he ordered, it didn't last very long. Meredy though was taking her time eating her food, watching Natsu eat everything he got in only a few seconds. Even after she finished her meal, Natsu was still eating. She just smiled and waited for him to finish.

By the time he was finished, almost everyone at the place had already eaten and left. They paid for the food and went outside. Meredy looked up at the star filled sky. She held onto Natsu's arm and began walking with him back to Lucy's place. Natsu had barely noticed she was holding on to his arm. They got up to the door and she quickly gave Natsu a warm hug before running inside. Natsu felt a drop hit him on the head. He looked up to see clouds quickly forming in the sky. Another drop hit him on the head, but this one burned.

"What the…" He rubbed his head, the small spot the rain drop hit still burning. He quickly ran into Lucy's apartment.

"Natsu, what do you think-" She started.

"It's raining outside." He said. "There's something wrong with it. When I felt some hit me, it burned." He rubbed where it hit him. "It still does." He added. She looked at his head where he was rubbing. It was all swollen and red.

"That came from a rain drop?" She asked. He nodded. "This isn't good. Is it acid rain." She stuck her hand out the window. "Ow!" She shrieked when a drop hit her. A burn mark appeared on her palm where it hit.

"What happened?" Meredy came out and saw Lucy blowing on her hand. "Are you ok?" She went up to Lucy. She saw Natsu and wondered if he had something to do with it.

"I'm fine." She said. "But it feels like acid rain to me. That explains why it burned you. What I don't get is why it isn't affecting anything else." They looked outside. Only people and animals getting hit by the rain were burned, everything else remained unaffected. Natsu took a towel and stuck it outside. The rain burned his hand, but the towel just got wet. He pulled it back in and touched it to his other hand. "Does it hurt?" Lucy asked. He just shook his head.

"It's just like normal water now." He told her. They each grabbed a towel and used it as cover to get back to the guild.

"Are you guys alright?" Juvia asked as they came in. "This rain isn't normal. It only affects people. Even me."

"What. It hurts you too Juvia?" Lucy asked, surprised. Natsu just walked in and sat down, Meredy sitting next to him.

"So, how was it?" Mirajane asked, pulling Meredy aside.

"It was good." She said. _'Yeah, good…'_ She thought. She smiled. She wasn't able to tell her feelings to him yet, but she at least she got a date with him. That was enough to make her happy.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Ok, this chapter was a little short I know, but it was just a set up for next chapter. Don't expect the next chapter for a few weeks. I need to update my other stories first, then this one. And sorry if this chapter wasn't as good, I'm having a lot of trouble writing it on a computer that really doesn't work anymore, so I decided to finish it on the old one, and start writing chapters on my new laptop, so the next chapters will be a lot better.

Review and tell me if you liked this chapter or not.


	4. Chapter 4

So here's the next chapter.

No I won't add the time skip, it would mess up the story too much. I might do one as an epilogue though.

Chapter 4

Rain poured down on empty streets. The whole city of Magnolia was dead quiet, no one was out of their houses. The rain was too dangerous to go out in. The magic infused in it made it burn living organisms, but doesn't affect non-organic organisms at all. Once the water hit something, the magic left it, making it normal water again. All the people could do was watch the rain hit the ground from their windows, not able to do a thing about it.

Natsu watched the rain anxiously. He was too exited to just sit around and do nothing. He wanted to do something about the rain, but was stuck in the guild. Meredy looked at him staring out the window. To her, he looked sexy at that moment. He was soaked. While the rain hadn't hit them directly, enough water got through the towels to soak them. The water seemed to shine on him as some of it slid down his body, going through every curve, collecting more water as it went down. His usually spiky hair hanging down from being wet. The intense look in his eyes. His body shaking with anticipation. There was nothing covering his well endowed torso, he had taken off his shirt because it was wet. The expression on his face said he was ready for action, ready to take on the world.

"Natsu." Makarov came up from behind him. "There's no use thinking about it right now. There's nothing we can do at the moment. Just get some rest, we'll come up with something tomorrow." Natsu looked around. The only people awake were him, Makarov, Meredy, Erza, Gildarts, Lucy, and Cana. Cana was doing what she always does, drink. Erza and Gildarts were sitting at the bar not far from her, appearing to be in deep thought. Lucy was sitting across from Meredy, who was looking at him. He looked around to see everyone else asleep either on the floor or on a table. He got away form the window and sat next to Meredy. He just sat there a while when he felt something hit his shoulder. He looked over to see Meredy asleep, using his shoulder as a pillow. Lucy smiled as she drifted to sleep as well.

He was kind of jealous of them. He wasn't able to fall asleep for a few reasons. First, he was too anxious. The reason behind the rain bothered him too much. He needed to find out what was causing it. Then there was the fact that he just wasn't tired. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel tired in the least. There was also a feeling he didn't understand. For some reason, ever since Meredy put her head on his shoulder, a strange warmth began spreading through his body. He knew this warmth for he used to feel it a lot as a child when he was with Lisanna. But he never really understood the reason behind this warmth. He usually felt calmer when he felt it and found it easy to sleep, but this time, it seemed to have an adverse affect. It made him calm, but unable to sleep.

"I... I love you Natsu!" Meredy looked the dragon slayer in the eyes as she said that.

"I love you too, Meredy." Natsu smiled back at her. He got closer to her and pressed his lips against hers. Her face turned red and she kissed him back. She couldn't believe she was actually kissing him. "Meredy." He said, breaking the kiss. "Meredy." He said again, but more intently. "Meredy. Meredy."

"Meredy!" She sat up and looked around her. A dream. she knew it was too good to be true. It didn't take her long to notice she was resting on Natsu's shoulders. She got up quickly, her face turning red from embarrassment. "Good, you finally woke up." He said.

"Are you ok?" Lucy asked. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"I'm fine." She said. "It was a nice dream." She blushed a little as she said that. _'It was just a dream...'_ Meredy couldn't help but feel disappointed it was only a dream. No matter how much she disliked it, it was fact. She didn't have a chance with him. Besides, she knew he liked Lisanna, not her.

"Good, now that you're all awake, we need to do something about this rain." Makarov came up to them. Gajeel, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Gildarts joined in as well, ready to help out where needed. "Who ever caused the rain last time must be doing it this time as well. There for, we need to find him and get rid of him immediately." Makarov began explaining. "The only problem is this rain. It will burn us if we touch it. But, there is a way around it. We just need to wear clothing that covers up all our skin, that way, it won't affect us." He looked around to make sure everyone was paying attention. "If we cover up, we can look for him without worry of being hurt by the rain." They all nodded. They each gathered up clothing and used it to completely cover up, making sure no skin was showing, but there was a tiny crack for their eyes to see out of. The team then went out to search for the cause of this rain, with Gildarts as their leader. They split up the same as last time, only Gildarts went by himself like Erza, making there one more team than there was last time.

Natsu and Meredy started their search at the city boarder and made their way around the whole thing before making their way toward the center more. They went from outside to in, making a more pattern like path than the others. Instead of looking around randomly, they made circles, going in a little further after they made a complete circle. After a few minutes of searching, they came across a cloaked figure, walking the streets, looking for something.

"Hey! What do you think your doing?" Natsu ran up to him. The figure ran away at the sound of his voice. Meredy watched Natsu run after the man, running as fast as she could to keep up with him. The man lead them through alleyways, was winding through the streets attempting to lose them, but was so far unsuccessful. The man began increasing speed, leaving behind Natsu and Meredy, only to get tackled by Erza when he tried to turn a corner. He quickly threw her off of himself and got back up, only for the rest of the party to arrive and surround him. Needing a distraction, he threw his hands out in a shoving motion, causing the rain to concentrate more in one area, then in a quick motion, went forward, breaking through cloth and tissue; tearing and burning the flesh as it went all the way through. The water came out the other side, colored red, tainted with blood. Everyone looked to see what happened, only to see a stream of water hitting Natsu, piercing him right through his skin, through his heart, fatally wounding the young dragon slayer. The water stream was seemingly endless, continuously going through him, only to stop all together. The man was gone, but the group had a more important matter to deal with. Natsu fell to the ground, growing weaker and weaker every second. He only heard a scream before he completely blacked out, not able to see or feel anything any more.

A piercing pain shot through Natsu, his chest felt like it was on fire. He could feel a cold, yet burning liquid enter him, tearing it's way through him. A sharp pain passed through his body as it tore through his heart, puncturing the organ severely. The pain of his flesh, muscle, and bone being torn through as well as the burning feeling that it left in his wake was unlike anything he ever experienced before. The level of pain rising almost every second was too much for even him, he could feel his body getting heavier, his vision getting hazy. He started finding the simple task of breathing getting harder and harder to do. A warm liquid ran down his chest from where the pain started. The area around it was also being covered with it as well, his back following shortly after. Then, in an instant, all the pain went away. His body had gone numb, he legs gave way, allowing him to fall to the ground. His strength left him. His vision went from hazy to completely black, unable to see a thing. He heard a scream, then everything stopped.

Meredy sat at the table, crying. She couldn't bear the thought of Natsu dying, but was forced to accept that as a possibility. They gave him to Porlyusica, but she told them she might not be able to save him on time. All they could do was wait. Both Meredy and Lisanna were crying, broken about Natsu's condition. Neither would be able to see the one they loved die. It would be too much for them. The whole guild was quiet, only the cries of the two heart broken girls could be heard. None of them wanted Natsu to die. They all waited in silence, hopping to hear good news from Porlyusica soon. Erza cursed herself for not taking down the person when she had the chance; preventing this from ever happening. Elfman did his best to try and cheer up his little sister while Juvia helped Meredy the best she could. Despite their best efforts, they had no luck. Lucy watched Juvia try and help Meredy, holding back her own tears as well. She looked around at everyone and realized Happy wasn't there. The doors opened and Makarov walked in with a sad look across his face.

"Is he going to be ok?" Lucy asked, walking up to him.

"Porlyusica did all she could, now all we can do is believe in him." Makarov said. Lucy smiled slightly, knowing he has a chance. "But, she said chances are, he will most likely die..." He added sadly, wiping the smile off her face. She looked outside, the rain was still coming down, but it was just normal rain at that point. The magic rain had left with the man who brought it. She ran out the door, hoping to find Happy and try to cheer him up. She found him under one of the trees surrounding his and Natsu's house. She walked up to him and lowered herself down closer to his level. She knew he was probably taking Natsu's condition the hardest. Not only was Natsu his partner, he was like a father to him. She knew he had one of the closest bonds with him, they were inseparable. She knew he was suffering the most out of the rest of the guild and she wanted to help him feel better, even if it's just a little.

"Happy." The blue cat looked up at her when she said this. Tears could be seen falling down his face. "We just heard there is a chance that he will make it. We just have to believe in him, ok." She said in the most gentle, caring voice she could. She picked him up and held him close, hoping it would help a little. After she managed to calm him down enough, she took him back to the guild with her. Happy was still sad, but he felt a little better knowing Natsu has a chance. It seems everyone did. While not lively, people were at least talking more and Lisanna and Meredy had calmed down sufficiently enough. The talk was mostly about Natsu. Some being told how he ended up that way and some talking about the good times they had with him.

"You alright?" Pantherlily asked, walking up to him with Charle. Happy nodded.

"You sure?" Charle questioned. Both her and Pantherlily were worried about him when he went out into the rain.

"Yeah, I'm alright now." He said, reassuring them. Lucy watched the three cats converse amongst themselves. She looked up and noticed Meredy, Lisanna, Erza, Wendy, Gajeel, and Gray leaving the guild.

"Where are you all going?" She asked them as they approached her position.

"To visit Natsu." Lisanna answered. Lucy nodded and decided to join them as well. They walked to the woods where Porlyusica lived. The trip was miserable, the cold air combined with the freezing rain made things bad enough, but the slippery ground and lack of light made things worse. They each took at least one fall because they didn't have enough light to see what was in their path and ended up slipping on fresh patches of mud. Erza was the only one who didn't fall down when she slipped, she just stumbled forward and kept advancing. After what felt like hours, they finally arrived at Porlyusica's house.

"What do you all want." She asked, seeing the group walking up toward her house.

"We want to see Natsu." Lucy told her.

"No." She slammed her door shut, leaving them out in the rain.

"Why not?" Lisanna asked. There was no response.

"Let us in." Erza said. "We're freezing and would like to dry off as well."

"Why should I let you in?" Porlyusica asked, cracking the door a bit. She didn't see any reason to let the group in since no one was hurt and since she never invited them over either. She looked at each member one at a time, seeing who was in the group.

"Why won't you let us in." Lisanna responded.

"Like I said, I didn't invite you and there are too many people, there isn't enough room." She explained.

"Then just let us see Natsu one at a time, then we'll leave." Erza said. She wasn't about to give up. After all, they came all that way, so they should at least see him.

"Fine." Porlyusica sighed, giving up. "Just hurry, see him, and leave." Erza nodded and went in while everyone else stayed outside. She looked at the young mage lying on the bed in front of her. His entire torso was covered with bandages. The upper half of them were dyed red with his blood while the lower half were white, untouched by his blood. His chest barely moved at all, but she was just glad he was breathing at the moment. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be comfortable at the moment. "I was only able to stop the bleeding and sealed up the wound just a little. Whether or not it is enough will depend in him." Porlyusica said, coming up from behind her. "Once your done, send the next one in and be quick about it." Erza could tell that she didn't want them there at the time, not that she really wanted anyone to be there in the first place. She nodded and walked out. Gray came in next and looked at Natsu. He felt bad because he wasn't able to do anything for him. Sure they fought a lot, but they still cared a lot for one another. To Gray, losing Natsu would be no different for losing a family member. He knew everyone in Fairy Tail felt the same way. _'You better not die on me.'_ He thought before walking out. Wendy walked in and went over to Natsu. She felt useless. She can use healing magic, yet she couldn't do anything for him because the wound was too serious. She looked at him for a few more seconds before leaving, the sight being too much for the young preteen. Gajeel came in and walked over to his bed. _'You better not die. You can't die, not until I beat you.'_ He thought. He walked out, bringing in Lucy. She looked at him, not knowing what to say or think. He saved her numerous times and yet she couldn't do anything for him. _'Please, get up soon.'_ She thought as she left. Lisanna saw Lucy come out the door and went in next. She found it hard to look at him. She knew he was in pain. So was she. Seeing him like this hurt more than anything. She knelt down at his bedside and placed a finger on his cheek, rubbing down his face. She stood up and left, allowing Meredy to come in. She looked at his damaged body, tears running down her cheek. She couldn't bear seeing him like this. She clenched her chest, feeling a sharp pain in her heart. She went to his bed side and lowered her self down, placing her head on his stomach. She felt slightly better when she felt him breathing. It wasn't much, but it was enough just knowing he was alive. she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. _'Get better quickly.'_ She said to herself, leaving.

The group, finished with their visit, left Porlyusica and headed back to their guild. The storm had gotten worse, so they ran back as quickly as possible. Everyone except Lucy and Meredy ran back to the guild. The two girls went back to their apartment and got undressed. They both went and took a warm bath before getting some dry clothes on. They sat down on Lucy's bed and thought about what might happen. Not wanting anything bad to happen, they hoped for the best before lying down and getting some sleep.

"So, how did it go?" Mirajane asked, walking up to her little sister.

"He looks fine, but I can tell he's in a lot of pain." Lisanna said.

"He alive right, so that's all that matters right now." Mirajane sat down next to her and gave her a warm hug.

Meredy yawned, tired. She stretched and got up out of bed. A ray of sunlight came in through a window and shined in her eyes. She got dressed and looked outside. The ground shined from all the water on it. She didn't see Lucy and supposed that she was back at the guild. After getting everything she needed, she headed to the guild herself. She walked into the dead quiet guild. Everyone was there, but they weren't saying anything. They seemed to have sad looks on their faces.

"Meredy." Mirajane ran up to her. "You haven't heard yet, have you?"

"Heard what...?" Meredy was almost scared of the answer. The dead silence of the guild was ominous enough.

"Natsu's condition worsened. It seems the magic in the water poisoned him, and it's just now starting to affect him. There is no chance for him any more." Her voice died down as she said that last sentence. Meredy just stood there in shock. _'No.'_ She thought. She didn't want to accept it. _'He... He can't die... He can't...'_ She fell to her knees. Her whole world came crashing down around her. He had helped her in her darkest time, helped her fit in. Gave her a reason to live. Taught her how to love. Now, he was slipping away and she couldn't do anything. The very thing that made her able to see Fairy Tail as a family was slipping away from her. She couldn't take it. She stood up and ran out the door. She ran and ran until her legs gave away. She found herself in a forest and rested against a tree before breaking down, crying. The happiness that had been growing inside her just left. She no longer had a reason to be happy. The two people she loved the most had left her. She could only cry, wishing the pain would go away. Wishing one of them would come back. One of them would comfort her. A pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Juvia is sorry for what happened." Juvia cradled the young mage in her arms. "We all know how you feel. We all do..." Meredy wrapped her arms around Juvia and cried into her shoulder. She didn't know what she would do anymore. There was nothing left for her. The pain was just too much for her. Her happiness was gone.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I lied. So sue me. I know I said next chapter would take a while, but I changed my mind. So, I hope you liked this chapter. Next chapter will come out when ever I feel like typing it up. So tell me how I did please.

Review. Do it. Now. Hurry.


	5. Chapter 5

So, I would just like to tell everyone this isn't a tragedy. I'm also kind of disappointed. Some of you people say you can't wait for the next chapter don't even review. How am I supposed to know you actually read it and liked it if you don't review. If I do something you don't like, then tell me. I won't get any better than this if I don't get any reviews telling me where I can improve. I need to improve. I would like to improve so I can write better chapters that everyone would like. I also want to know something. Why aren't many people reading this? Is it because it doesn't stay on the updated page long enough to get noticed? Or is it because people don't want to read it because it is a pairing no one has ever seen before this one? (Yes I know this is the first story with this pairing because I checked the others.) To sum it up easily, how did you find this story and what made you want to read it? Just answer that question for me please. And in all honesty, tell me how you like this pairing. Is it good or bad? Would you recommend this story to other people? And most importantly, how do you think the plot is so far? Good? Bad? Ok, but needs work? Tell me please, I would like to know, no matter who you are. (just no flames please. Harsh, but kind and honest criticism is highly appreciated.)

Just to say, ignore the first umm... 3 questions I asked, they were just something I've been meaning to ask for a while now, I don't really need them answered (it's just something you need to get off your chest that has been bothering you for a while, you know), but please answer the other questions to the best of your ability. (From "how you found it: on I would like answered, the questions I asked before it you can just ignore. Thanks)

Chapter 5

Meredy sat at the table, crying. They were supposed to have a funeral for Natsu, but his body had been stolen. They had been searching for 5 days but haven't had any luck. Everyone in Fairy Tail had left to go look for him, except Meredy. She wanted to help them, but was too depressed to even move. But she didn't care anymore. Everything she loved was now gone, forever. Tears rolled down her cheek to her legs. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop crying. The tears just kept coming, no matter how much she tried to stop them.

"Any luck?" Erza asked Gray. He shook his head. They had already searched all of Magnolia but found no traces of him. They had started searching the area around the city, but still haven't found him. It was only a matter of time before the body thief got away. They had seen them already and could still feel their magical power near by, but just couldn't locate it.

"We found them!" Lucy came running up to them. She signaled them to follow and lead them to the thief.

"I won't ask you again, give us back his body." Makarov yelled. The thief just stood there, laughing a little.

"Sorry, I can't do that just yet." She said. "He's sleeping and I don't want to wake him up." She laughed a little.

"What do you mean sleeping, he's dead!" Makarov was getting impatient with her. Erza, hearing the conversation, attacked, but missed completely. The thief had almost instantly moved behind her and attacked her, knocking her into a tree.

"Weak." The thief said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be somewhere." She tried to run away, only to get caught by a giant hand. She looked back and saw Makarov in his titan form, holding onto her tightly. He squeezed tighter, making her gasp. She couldn't let herself get caught, so she used some kind of magic, reverting Makarov back to his original form. She landed and turned around to run away, only to run into Erza. She stumbled backwards. It felt like she had run into a brick wall. She looked at Erza, who was wearing her titan armor. Erza requiped into her normal armor with a sword and swung at the thief. The thief easily dodged, making another attempt to run away. This time, Gray was the one to stop her. He used his ice make to freeze everything over, causing her to slip. She got up to see Erza on one side and Gray on the other. She let out a short laugh and kicked Gray right between the legs, running off at the distraction.

"N-no fair..." Gray moaned in pain. Erza went and supported him. They all went back to the guild, sad they weren't able to save Natsu or get his body back.

"Natsu... Natsu... Hurry and wake up, your friends need you." A woman said, looking over his lifeless body.

Back at Lucy's apartment, she and Meredy sat on the couch, comforting one another. They had both lost an amazing friend and comrade. While everyone was affected mentally, Lisanna was the only one affected physically. When she heard about Natsu's death, she fell terribly ill. Porlyusica said it was a disease that attacked the mind, destroying it from the inside out. Everyone in Fairy Tail was down about that too, especially Elfman and Mirajane. They had lost her once and didn't want to lose her again. No one wanted to lose her again, nor did they want to lose another comrade. It would be too much to lose two people in such a short time.

"N-Natsu..." Lisanna muttered in her sleep.

"Poor thing." Porlyusica said, looking at her. "Losing a friend is hard, losing someone you love as more than a friend is harder." She placed a wet rag on Lisanna's forehead. She sat down on a chair next to the bed and looked at Lisanna. "Sorry I couldn't help him any more. If only I'd known about the poison, I might have been able to..." She trailed off.

"Meredy..." Lucy said. "Tell me, what did Natsu mean to you..." She asked. Meredy looked at her, unsure of how to answer.

"Well..." Meredy thought for a moment. "To be honest... I began to like him as more than a friend. I guess I fell in love with him..." She said. "Why do you ask?" She looked at Lucy.

"I already know you fell in love with him, but I want to know what he meant to you. Like, how serious were you about him...? What would you have done for him...? What did he mean to you as a person?" Lucy questioned. Meredy realized she had never thought about it herself. What did he mean to her as a person. "Forget it." She said seeing Meredy's pained face. "Don't force yourself. I was just curious."

"No... I just never really thought about it, that's all." Meredy said. She knew she was in love with him, but never once thought about any of that because she didn't think she ever had a chance with him. How far would she go with him? Would she go all the way? Would she have moved fast, or slowly? What would she have done for him? What would she have done with him? She couldn't stop thinking about it. She wanted an answer, but couldn't find one anywhere.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked. "You don't look too good." She placed a hand on Meredy's forehead. "Wow, you seem to be running a fever." She said. "Guess you haven't been getting much sleep have you?" Meredy nodded. Ever since she heard about Natsu's condition worsening and him having no chance, she hasn't been able to get any sleep. It was a combination of pain that prevented sleep. The shock of losing him hurt her mentally, but ever since then, her heart has also been hurting, tremendously. It was like someone was grabbing it and squeezing it, but not allowing it to break, just making her suffer.

While Meredy and Lisanna had taken Natsu's death badly, Happy is most likely suffering the most. Happy not only lost his closet friend, he had lost his precious partner and family. Everyone in Fairy Tail considered Natsu family, but not in the way Happy did. The two were inseparable, not just like a father and son, but more like brothers. When his body was stolen, Happy was the first to go looking for him, not even telling anyone else what happened. Even now, he was searching for him, refusing to give up. He had stopped flying so he could explore every nook and cranny, making sure he didn't miss a single spot.

"You should rest for a while, Happy." Charle said, landing next to the blue cat alongside Pantherlily.

"I can't give up, I won't give up!" Happy said.

"We're not asking you to give up, we're just asking you to get some rest." Pantherlily stated. Both him and Charle were worried about him greatly. Happy had been searching for Natsu ever since his body was taken, not even resting for a second. Pantherlily was worried Happy might hurt himself by doing this. He knew Happy was strong, but everyone has their limits. "So, let's go back to the guild and rest for a whi-"

"I won't stop till I find him!" Happy interrupted, practically yelling. "I can't stop-" He was interrupted by Charle, who slapped him across the face.

"Just shut up already!" She yelled. "Stop acting like he's the only one important to you!" Happy looked at her angerly. She grabbed him by the strap around his neck and pulled his face close to hers. "Snap out of it." She said, calming down a bit. "Don't push yourself so much..." She let go of his strap, wrapping her arms around him. Happy broke down, crying. Ever since new of Natsu's condition, everyone had been worrying about Lisanna and the others, but no one tried to console him. Even though he was the one who was most likely hurt the most, no one had helped him, making him lose sight of what mattered. He could only think about Natsu and no one else. "Please just come back for a bit and rest." She nuzzled her nose against his, calming him. Pantherlily smiled knowing he was at least calm. He headed back to the guild, not wanting to spoil the mood for them.

"Where were you?" Gajeel asked as Pantherlily walked in.

"Finding Happy with Charle." He responded. He followed the iron dragon slayer around the guild, talking about what he was doing in more detail. "I think he was acting that way because no one tried to help him in his time of need. But he should be better now." Pantherlily finished his explanation. He and Gajeel continued to talk, mostly about what they did that day.

"Happy..." Charle said when he finally calmed down completely. "I'm sorry. Even though I knew you would be hurt, I didn't try to help you. I thought leaving you alone for a while would be best, but I was wrong." She looked down sadly.

"It's ok Charle." Happy said. "Thank you for helping..." He said. Without even thinking, without caring for what might happen next, Charle pulled Happy into a quick, passionate kiss. Neither had experienced anything like it before. When they realized what was going on, they broke it, backing away from one another a little. Both were flustered, but neither could deny that they enjoyed it thoroughly. The two walked back to the guild, looking away from one another, not realizing they were holding hands. (A/N: Hands, paws, who cares, ignore the logic, you know what I mean.)

"Wake up sleepy head, don't keep them waiting too long."

Meredy just kept talking with Lucy. The two were trying to move past the pain by talking about random stuff they like. It wasn't working too well for Lucy, but she continued because it seemed to be working for Meredy a little. They hadn't realized how fast time had gone by. It was already night time by the time they were finished.

The sun shown brightly that morning. All the members of Fairy Tail were in the guild, talking about how they were going to find the thief. Meredy had finally decided to join the search as well, wanting to get it over with as fast as she could.

"Yo, what are you all doing." A voice came in as the door opened. "What's with everyone? Why is it so quiet?" The nostalgic voice echoed throughout the guild, making everyone's blood run cold. "Umm... Hello, are you all alright? Don't look so depressed, it's no fun that way." Everyone turned around to see who it was. Silence. Only a small gasp was heard.

"I-is that really you..." Lucy asked, walking toward him. "Natsu."

"Umm... I don't think I'm anyone else, am I?" Natsu stepped into the light more, showing everyone it really was him.

"NATSU!" Everyone had yelled. They all ran up to him, hugging him, happy to see him alive. Lucy backed away and looked at Meredy. The girls eyes were full of tears. Once everyone had their turn with him, she quickly ran toward him, wrapping her arms around him. She placed her head on his chest and sighed happily when she heard his heart, beating. She moved his vest to look at his wound, only to see it wasn't there, not even a scar remained.

"What happened?" Erza asked. "We all thought you died."

"I don't know..." He lied.

*Flashback*

"Wake up sleepy head, don't keep them waiting too long." A woman said, sitting next to Natsu. His chest was rising and falling steadily, but his eyes were still closed. The woman stroked his cheek. All his wounds just went away. Any wound he had was gone, leaving no trace that they were there. "Hurry up." She said. His eyes fluttered open. The room was dimly lit and there was just a single bed and chair, nothing else. It was a very simple room to say the least.

"Who are you?" He asked, stretching and sitting up.

"You don't remember?" She asked teasingly. "It's Ultear, don't forget it again, ok." She answered, smiling.

"But, I heard you'd died? What gives?" He asked, hanging his legs over the end of his bed.

"I thought so too, but for some reason or another, someone brought me back, but it's only for a short while." She said. "I used my arc of time to heal your wounds. While it normally doesn't work on living creatures," She hung a shining green pendant in front of him. "I can use this to remove that limit and use it on people as well." She said.

"So... Why did you save me?" He asked.

"I've never seen her so happy before." Ultear said. "Not once had Meredy made that kind of face while with us. She was more than just happy. Without you, she won't be happy any more." She explained. "By keeping you alive, I can see my precious Meredy's smiling face again." She smiled. "Now, go, your friends are waiting." He nodded and got up.

"Thanks." He said.

"Oh, wait, one more thing." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"Please, don't tell anyone I'm alive, ok." She told him. "Don't ask why, just please don't tell a soul, alright."

"Ok then." He said.

*End Flashback*

"I just remember waking up in a strange place and then I just came here." He said. He felt bad for lying, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Come with us." Erza said. She took him by the wrist and began dragging him with her to Porlyusica's. Everyone followed, but got separated from them because they were walking too fast. Meredy walked into the house when they finally caught up, only to have her world crashing down around her. She walked in to see Lisanna and Natsu, kissing.

Erza waited outside while Natsu went in. He walked up to the bed and saw Lisanna lying there. Her face was red and her breathing was very heavy.

"Lisanna." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Natsu..." She opened her eyes and jumped up when she saw him right there next to her. She rubbed her eyes, making sure she wasn't hallucinating. She looked again, still seeing him there. An uncontrollable happiness over took her and she threw her arms around him. She looked into his eyes, happy to see him alive. "Natsu, I'm so happy." Right after those words left her lips, she pressed her lips against his, not caring what happened after. When she felt him kiss her back, she deepened the kiss. The feeling she was feeling couldn't be described with words. She was just so happy to see him alive, she couldn't control herself. She broke the kiss and looked around. Almost everyone in the guild was there. Elfman was nearly crying after seeing that. But what caught her eye was Meredy. Meredy's face looked heartbroken. She let go of Natsu. Not able to take it anymore, Meredy ran out, crying.

She knew Lisanna loved him and he loved her, but it wasn't something she wanted to see. Sure, she could accept their love, but seeing them kiss like that just set something off in her. Meredy couldn't help but cry. He had finally come back and she was so happy. But the happiness was ended just like that after seeing them kiss. To her, it was the worst sight ever. It was too much for her heart to take.

"Meredy..." Mirajane came up from behind her. "Listen, I know it hurts, but don't worry. You haven't lost yet. There is still plenty of time to win him over." She encouraged her. She wanted Natsu to be with her sister, but she couldn't let Meredy suffer like that. "I have an idea." She said. She pulled Meredy close to her and whispered in her ear.

"What... I can't do that..." Meredy said, blushing.

"But neither can Lisanna." Mirajane said. "If you can do it first, you might have a chance. Ok" She gave Meredy a loving smile. Meredy nodded. While she was still unhappy, she wasn't going to give up so easily. She was going to win Natsu's heart. She wouldn't give up until she did. She stood up and walked back to the apartment, preparing. She knew Lisanna would be sad, but she wasn't going to give up her own happiness just to make Lisanna happy. She would find a way to make both of them happy. But her first priority was her own happiness first.

TO BE CONTINUED...

There we go, chapter 5. So i hoped you liked it. Please answer the questions I asked you to in the beginning in your reviews. I won't post the next chapter till I get some answers... I feel like I'm a detective in one of those cheesy detective shows, "I won't let you leave till I get answers..." can't quiet remember where that's from. But still, answer in your reviews, if you didn't read them, go back and do so now please.

So just answer and review.


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